Heat seal retaining clips

ABSTRACT

A fastener, for reception in a hole in a panel to secure a sealing strip to the panel, comprises a generally U-shaped member of spring metal, the member having a pair of arms which extend away from a bight portion of the member, the free end of the arms being formed with outwardly extending ears and with inwardly extending teeth to grip a sealing strip.

D United States Patent [151 3,673,643

Kindell 1 July 4, 1972 541 HEAT SEAL RETAINING CLIPS [56] ReferencesCited [72] Inventor: Colin David Kindell, Bushey, England U D ST ES PENTS [73] Assignee: AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa. 2,219,382 10/1940Conlon ..49/492 X [22] New on 26 1970 2,655,239 10/1953 Kenlock ..52/716X a [21] Appl.No.: 84,008 Primary Examiner-Donald A.GriffinAttorney-William .1. Keating, Ronald Grefe, Gerald K. [30] ForeignApplication Priority Data gglauliiedenck W. Rarmg, .Iay L. Se|tch|k andJohn P. Van- Nov. 19, 1969 Great Britain ..56,565/69 ABSTRACT [52] US.Cl. "24173 B, 49/492,l." 226//7]l96(S A fastener, for reception in ahole in a panel to secure a seal [51] m. Cl. 21/00 ing strip to thepanel, comprises a generally U-shaped member [58] Fieldas;5i;'IfIIIII.IJIIJIIIIIJJIIIII25/555"J33' 126/190 Swing membe' havinga Pair which 24/73 FT, 259 TF, 73 B; 52/716, 717

tend away from a bight portion of the member, the free end of the armsbeing fonned with outwardly extending ears and with inwardly extendingteeth to grip a sealing strip.

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEIJJUL' 1972 saw 10F 2 HEATSEAL'RETAINING CLIPS This invention relates to a fastener for use inreleasably securing a tubular or other sealing strip to a panel, forexample in securing a heat-resisting sealing strip to the door of acooking oven.

In British Pat. specification No. 838,935 there is disclosed such afastener comprising a strip of spring steel or other metal of similarresilience and hardness return bent at its central region to provide apair of spaced arms which inthe untensioned condition of the fastenerextend in the same general direction approximately parallel one to theother and which are shaped to provide in the untensioned condition ofthe fastener a snap stud portion, the leading end of which is formed bythe bight of the fastener, and the end portions of the fastener stripproviding opposed, inwardly extending teeth, the arrangement being suchthat with the free ends of the arms forced somewhat apart, the fastenermay be applied to a sealing strip so that the fastener extendssubstantially at right angles to the sealing strip and on release of thearms the teeth penetrate the sealing strip and provide it with a snapstud fastening means.

For use, a plurality of such fasteners are secured to a sealing strip atpredetermined positions along the strip, and the fasteners then insertedinto holes in the member to which the sealing strip is to be secured.This method has the disadvantage that considerable care must be taken toaccurately position the fasteners along the strip so that their spacingcorresponds to the spacing of the mating holes in the member to whichthe strip is to be secured. Further, care must be taken that all thefasteners extend in substantially the same direction away, from thestrip so that the strip does not have to be twisted when being securedto the member, as such twisting may adversely affect the quality andlife of the seal provided by the strip. I

According to one aspect of this invention a fastener, for reception in ahole in a panel to secure a sealing strip to the panel, comprises agenerally U-shaped member of spring metal, the member having a pair ofarms which extend substantially parallel away from a bight portion ofthe member for a first part of their length and then diverge for asecond part'of their length, the free ends of the arms being formed withoutwardly extending ears and with inwardly extending teeth to grip asealing strip, the first parts of the arms being formed with firstoutwardly extending projections spaced from the junction between thefirst and second parts of the arms by a distance substantially equal tothe thickness of a panel with which the fastener is to be used, and thesecond parts of the arms being formed with second outwardly extendingprojections spaced from the ears of the arms by a distance substantiallyequal to the thickness of the panel with which the fastener is to beused.

The fastener of this invention has the advantage that it can bepositioned and retained in a suitably sized hole in a panel prior tobeing connected to a sealing strip which is to be secured to the panel.The fastener is first inserted into the hole until the first projectionsengage the surface of the panel remote from the insertion side of thepanel, the fastener being retained in this position by engagement of thepanel between the first projections and the second parts of the arms ofthe fastener. A sealing strip can then be positioned as required on theteeth of the arms and then pushed towards the panel. This action causesthe second parts of the arms of the fastener to be urged together byengagement with the edges of the hole in which the fastener ispositioned, this in turn causing the teeth of the arms to bite into thesealing strip. The fastener is pushed into the hole until the panelengages between the second projections and the ears of the arms. Thefastener is retained in this position and serves to hold the sealingstrip against the panel.

Thus, according to another aspect of this, invention a method ofsecuring a sealing strip to a panel by means of a generally U-shapedfastener of spring metal, includes the steps of inserting the fastenerinto a hole in the panel, bight portion leading, until first outwardlyextending projections of the arms of the fastener have passed throughthe hole and engage the surface of the panel remote from the insertionside to secure the fastener to the panel; mounting the sealing strip onteeth formed at the free ends of the arms of the fastener; and pushingthe fastener further into the hole until second outwardly extendingprojections of the arms of the fastenerhave passed through the hole andengage said surface of the panel thereby to secure the sealing strip tothe panel.

These and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will be understood in greater-detail from the followingdescription and accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is aperspective view of a firstembodiment;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the embodiment of FIG. 1 positioned in ahole in a panel and with a sealing strip mounted thereon prior to beingpushed home into the hole;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation similar to that of FIG. 3 but with thefastener pushed home into the hole in the'panel;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the second embodiment; and

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of the second embodiment.

The fastener of FIG. 1 comprises a generally U-shaped member of carbonsteel having a pair of arms 1 and 2 joined by a bight portion 3.Adjacent the bight portion 3 the arms 1 and 2 have first parts la and 2a(FIG. 2) which lie substantially parallel. Beyond the parts la and 2athe arms 1 and 2 have secondparts lb and 2b which diverge. The free endsof the arms 1 and 2 are formed to provide outwardly extending ears 4 and5, and inwardly extending teeth 6, 7 and 8. Barbs 9,10 and 11,12constituting first outwardly extending projections are formed in thesides of the first arm parts 10 and 2a respectively. Another pair ofbarbs constituting second outwardly extending projections, of which onlyone, 13, is shown in FIG. 1, is formed in the second arm part 1b. Abarb14 also constituting a second outwardly extending projection is struckout of the arm part 2b.

The distance separating the arm parts 1a and 2a is determined by thewidth of a hole in a panel 15, FIG. 3, which is to receive the fastener,and the distance separating each ear 4 or 5 from the barbs or barb 13 or14 in the associated second am part lb or 2b is substantially equal tothe thickness of the panel 15.

Further, the distance separating the barbs 9 and 10, or 11 and 12 fromthe junction between the first and second parts It; and lb, or 2a and 2bof the associated arm 1 or 2 is substantially equal to the thickness ofthe panel 15.

For use, the fastener is inserted into the hole in the panel 15 bypressing the arms 1 and 2 towards-each other and passing the fastenerinto the hole, bight portion 3 leading, from one side of the panel 15,the upper as shown in FIG. 3, until the barbs 9,10,11 and 12 emergebelow the underside of the panel 15. The arms 1 and 2 are then releasedto spring apart to the hole walls, the barbs 9,10,] 1 and 12 engagingthe underside of the panel 15. The fastener is then held to the panel 15which may be moved, for example on a conveyor belt, without dislodgingthe fastener. A sealing strip 16, for example a heat seal, is thenforced onto the teeth 6,7 and 8 to cause the teeth 6,7 and 8 to biteinto the strip 16. Further movement of the strip 16 towards the panel 15causes the fastener to pass further into the hole until the ears 4 and 5abut the upper side of the panel 15 and the barbs 13 and 14 engage theunderside of the panel 15, as shown in FIG. 4. A portion of the strip 16is then trapped between the teeth 6,7 and 8, the strip 16 thus beingsecured to the panel 15.

The hole in the panel 15 is preferably of generally rectangularcrowsection and the fastener is especially useful in securing a heatseal 16 composed of a braided asbestos cord to a panel 15 forming anoven door.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. :5 and 6 of the drawings is similar. tothat of FIGS. 1 to 4 except that the barbs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of FIGS. 1to 4 are replaced by pressed-out outwardly extending projections 17.This gives the advantage that the projections 17 serve to stiffen thebight portion 3 of the fastener, thus making the fastener more flexibleat the junctions between the arm parts 10 and 1b, and 2a and 2b when thefastener is inserted into the hole in the panel 15. Further, whereas inthe embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4 the ears 4 and 5 project substantiallyperpendicularly from the arm parts 1b and 2b, this being because thefastener is intended to secure a sealing strip 16 to a flat surface of apanel 15, as shown, in the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6 the .ears 4 and 5and the arm parts lb and 2b include an angle greater than 90, this beingbecause the fastener is intended to secure a sealing strip in a recessin a panel.

I claim:

1. A fastenenfor reception in a hole in a panel to secure a sealingstrip to the panel, comprising a generally U-shaped member of springmetal, the member having a pair of arms which extend substantiallyparallel away from a bight portion of the member for a first part oftheir length and then diverge for a second part of their length, thefree ends of the arms being formed with outwardly extending ears andwith inwardly extending teeth to grip a sealing strip, the first partsof the arms being formed with first outwardly extending projectionsspaced from the junction between the first and second parts of the armsby a distance substantially equal to the thickness of a panel with whichthe fastener is to be used, and the second parts of the arms beingformed with second outwardly extending projections spaced from the earsof the arms by a distance substantially equal to the thickness of thepanel with which the fastener is to be used.

2. A fastener as claimed in claim 1, in which the first and secondoutwardly extending projections are in the form of barbs struck out fromthe arms of the fastener.

3. A fastener as claimed in claim 1, in which the first outwardlyextending projections are pressed-out portions of the first arm parts,and the second outwardly extending projections are in the form of barbsstruck out from the second arm arts. p 4. A fastener as claimed in claimI, in which one arm carries one tooth and the other arm carries twoteeth arranged to pass on either side of the one tooth of the one arm asthe arms are closed together.

5. A fastener as claimed in claim 4, in which the one arm carries twosecond outwardly extending projections one at each side of the secondarm part, and the other arm carries a single, central second outwardlyextending projection.

6. A fastener as claimed in claim 1, in which the ears extendsubstantially perpendicularly from the second arm parts.

7. A fastener as claimed in claim 1, in which each ear and theassociated second ann part include an angle greater than

1. A fastener, for reception in a hole in a panel to secure a sealingstrip to the panel, comprising a generally U-shaped member of springmetal, the member having a pair of arms which extend substantiallyparallel away from a bight portion of the member for a first part oftheir length and then diverge for a second part of their length, thefree ends of the arms being formed with outwardly extending ears andwith inwardly extending teeth to grip a sealing strip, the first partsof the arms being formed with first outwardly extending projectionsspaced from the junction between the first and second parts of the armsby a distance substantially equal to the thickness of a panel with whichthe fastener is to be used, and the second parts of the arms beingformed with second outwardly extending projections spaced from the earsof the arms by a distance substantially equal to the thickness of thepanel with which the fastener is to be used.
 2. A fastener as claimed inclaim 1, in which the first and second outwardly extending projectionsare in the form of barbs struck out from the arms of the fastener.
 3. Afastener as claimed in claim 1, in which the first outwardly extendingprojections are pressed-out portions of the first arm parts, and thesecond outwardly extending projections are in the form of barbs struckout from the second arm parts.
 4. A fastener as claimed in claim 1, inwhich one arm carries one tooth and the other arm carries two teetharranged to pass on either side of the one tooth of the one arm as thearms are closed together.
 5. A fastener as claimed in claim 4, in whichthe one arm carries two second outwardly extending projections one ateach side of the second arm part, and the other arm carries a sIngle,central second outwardly extending projection.
 6. A fastener as claimedin claim 1, in which the ears extend substantially perpendicularly fromthe second arm parts.
 7. A fastener as claimed in claim 1, in which eachear and the associated second arm part include an angle greater than90*.